Tell us what you think about Onion Creek

Travis County is hosting two public meetings to receive input on the Onion Creek Concept Plan the first week of March, 2010.

The first meeting is March 1, 2010 from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. in the Travis County Administration Building at 314 W. 11th Street in the Commissioners Courtroom on the first floor. The second meeting is March 3, 2010 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. at the East Service Center (near ABIA) at 6011 Blue Bluff Road.

Please come and share your thoughts on the future of Onion Creek. Contact Wendy Scaperotta at wendy.saperotta@co.travis.tx.us or 512/854-7655 if you have any questions about the events.

Take a Hike

On April 10th, 2010, be one of the first to explore Williamson County’s newest park, the Williams Tract. The property is more than 1,000 acres of meadows, wetlands and rolling hills with planned features including hiking trails, campgrounds, equestrian trails, and a visitor/heritage center.

Join representatives from Williamson County and BWM Group for the following activities:

• Hike along 1K, 3K and 5K trails with park staff, native plant guides and Audubon Society members.
• Ride your horse (Riders must be at the park by 10am for 10:30am start, no late riders. Please call to reserve your spot)
• Snap some photos of the native grasses, the San Gabriel River, or wildlife on the trail photo shoot out (10:30 am or 12:30 pm, please call to reserve your tour)

Williams Tract Park is located just south of Liberty Hill. Take Hwy 29 west to Liberty Hill and turn left on RR 1869. Then turn left on CR 282 and the park is on the left just south of CR 284.
For more information or to make a reservation, please call 512-260-4283 or visit wilco.org.

Smart Phones, Smart Cars ... Smart Squares?

Is this an impressionist version of a NASCAR flag or maybe what Yin Yang looks like after one too many margaritas? Not quite. It is a Quick Response (QR) Code. Wikipedia defines a QR code as " a two-dimensional bar code created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994 ." QR Codes are common in Japan. When you think of Japan what do you think of next? Manor, Texas, of course.

In addition to hospitality, QR Codes are something Japan and the City of Manor share. In a cost savings effort, Manor implemented QR Codes internally for data management. City staff saw the benefit for sharing information with the same vehicle externally to engage citizens, businesses and tourists as well. Assistant City Manger, Dustin Haisler, and City Manager, Phil Tate, gave me a tour and demonstration Tuesday January 12th. After installing i-ngma on my phone I waved the phone with the camera engaged over the square which directed me to the specific website. This simple square links the person to an organic and more robust data source than available in printed media. The virtue is limitless. A public entity can communicate bond improvement status, cultural marker background material, native vegetation data, next bus stop arrival, etc. In addition to providing information, the entity also can collect data of the visitors. This aspect has the same advantages for private enterprise, an extremely valuable tool for target marketing efforts.

Dustin Haisler has grabbed the attention of the white house and folks from Italy to Brazil. It is wonderful to have his innovative bright mind in our region. I hope to be a part of implementing the QR Codes along some of our State's trails and greenways to better disseminate the virtues of watershed protection and connectivity.

I downloaded the viewer for my Samsung Blackjack at http://www.i-nigma.mobi. Go to http://www.block5.com/iphone for the iphone.

- Sallie Burchett, BWM Group

University of Texas makes the top 10 of Architecture Schools

"Love ‘em or hate ‘em, school rankings are influencing prospective students’ decisions on where to apply, and architecture firms’ decisions on whom to employ. RECORD looks at this year’s survey and asks people in academia and the profession what it all means."

Hook em'

A look at why Cedar Park is more eventful

The Austin Business Journal recognized two of BWM Group's commercial projects at the Williamson County Growth Summit. The Cedar Park Event's Center holds up to 9,000 persons and will generate up to $200,000 in sales tax.


The 1890 Ranch shopping center is not just another retail center. In addition to generating payroll in excess of $10 million, BWM designed a great place. Visitors can splash in the sundial while waiting for their movie to start and park their car in one of many shaded spots from the existing oak trees saved.

New park for Pflugerville

Lake Pflugerville Park lands on the front page of the Statesman Metro Section this weekend. BWM developed the master plan and design for the City of Pflugerville. Working with HDR engineering, the team developed a loop trail around the City’s new regional storm water lake. This trail was a crucial component to the city-wide trail system by connecting the newly developed residences around this lake to the rest of the community by linking the loop trail to the City’s existing network of trails. Through a multitude of stakeholder meetings, BWM was able to span residential surface drainage and develop a congruous and durable trail system that was pleasing to the eye, accessible to all and an asset to the cities entire trail system. Photo by Deborah Cannon.

Contractor of the Year Award

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) awarded T.A. Todd Construction the Contractor of the Year Award for the Georgetown residential remodel designed by David Rothenberg.

Notice how the remodel adds a new 300 square foot sunny family room by moving the mechanical equipment to the attic and consolidating the corridor spaces to the center.

The Georgetown town home was a part of the NARI tour of homes on October 24th and 25th.